Inside the Braves with MLB.com's Mark Bowman

Heyward starts while Constanza rests

Now that Team Schafer and Team McLouth are a thing of the past will they be remembered as fondly as the Orlando Rage, Las Vegas Outlaws and other former members of the defunct XFL?

I’m guess some of the the members of those teams have recently joined Team Constanza, an expansion club that came out of nowhere to enrage members of Team Heyward.

Well with the Braves getting ready to face Tim Lincecum during tonight’s series finale against the Giants, manager Fredi Gonzalez has opted to put Heyward in the lineup and rest Constanza, who had started every game the Braves had played dating back to his July 29 Major League debut.

Before we go any further, I’ll have to say the hot-hand fallacy has provided great entertainment while Constanza has routinely started instead of Heyward over the past couple of weeks. Yes, I understand why some of you have brought this up in this situation.

But seriously did it really make sense especially after Constanza continued to stay hot past his first week in the Majors. I mean are you going to leave a perfectly good ski slope simply because you know the snow is going to eventually melt?

As mentioned countless times, Constanza did more than the Braves could have ever imagined over the past couple

weeks. Had they known he was going to hit .385 with a .420 on-base percentage, they could have comfortably sent Heyward down to the Minors to fix his broken offensive approach and be ready to produce when Constanza cooled.

No, I’m not ready to say Constanza has “cooled” simply because he has been retired in each of his past six plate appearances. But at the same time, the Braves have to be prepared for that stretch when he is unable to duplicate the magic he has created over the past couple weeks.

In other words, they have to make sure Heyward gets regular at-bats and at least has a chance to be a productive asset down the stretch. Over the past couple days, the 22-year-old outfielder has shown some reason for optimism.

Heyward hit the ball hard the opposite way in two plate appearances against left-hander Madison Bumgarner Monday night and recorded an RBI single in Wednesday’s ninth inning against left-handed reliever Dan Runzler.

Scouts have said hitting coach Larry Parrish knew he was was facing a challenge the first time he saw Heyward swing in the indoor batting cages at Turner Field. At first the young outfielder was reluctant to make some of the adjustments Parrish suggested.

As mentioned nearly a month ago when it was first mentioned he could return to the Minors, Heyward felt more comfortable listening to C.J. Stewart, who had served as his hitting coach dating back to his youth. This seemed like an understandable reaction from a 21-year-old player who had already earned an All-Star selection and breezed through a Minor League career with his old approach.

But showing his maturity, Heyward has seemingly shown more willingness to make adjustments over the past month. At the same time, he has not sulked while Constanza has continued to produce. Instead he has waited patiently and spent more time in the batting cage with the hope of producing when he does get these opportunities to return to the lineup.

As Honorary Co-Captain of Team Constanza(and I still claim being the first to call him Georgie) I am glad to see him get a breather. What he has been doing day in and day out has to be exhausting. All that base running and scoring and come from behind walk offs you know. And now that Georgie has endured this devastating slump(avg. fell from .414 to the aforementioned .385), a day off is a good thing. It will also get us a chance to see if Heywardy Dumpty can put all the pieces together again. It’s nice to hear that he is at least listening to instruction now although I hope LP can do a little better with him than he has with some of his other projects. It’s amazing how a few pine splinters in your butt can encourage one to hit a few oppo shots.

And as the founding member of Team Schafer, I just wanted to let everyone know that Jordan is hitting off a tee and will likely get some rehab starts this weekend.

Lucky for us Schafer will be playing in the AL when he rights ship, we won’t have to feel his wrath very often. I’m looking forward to seeing him proving what he is capable of in a full healthy season.

For these next few weeks, it would probably be a good idea to rest guys a bit more often as long as we’re not deeply embroiled in a race. I’m not saying run a ST lineup out there, but maybe Freddie here, Dan there, Prado a little bit… all the while fielding a competitive team. Er, “side.” lol

Future is bright guys. How about Minor’s performance? Out-dueling Lincecum? How good does Wren look no letting him go for Beltran??? I have a confession to make. I benched Minor last night on my fantasy team and went with Lincecum. I owe Braves Nation an apology. Lincecum got me 3 points. Minor would have gotten me 22. I feel like less of a fan today, so confessing my sins in hope of Grace. I repent.

How about that minor for beltran trade so many braves fans were wanting. Doesnt look so good now does it. Beltran is predictably injured. And you wont get any draft picks when he leaves. The giants got robbed. Meanwhile, frank wren makes a great trade to get us a genunine lead off man.

Interesting tidbit: I was playing MLB2K11 online against someone, and I was clinging onto a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the 9th inning against the Indians at Progressive Field. I decided because of Dan Uggla’s arm on that game(not strong at all and very inaccurate) and an error because of it earlier in the game, I was going to put our utility defensive specialist infielder, Julio Lugo, at second base. When I go to make the switch, I notice that Lugo has the same arm as Uggla, and even less range. I know, I know, it’s only a video game, but these guys do their research; the player stats are very well placed and accurate to their real life counterparts. I haven’t seen enough of Lugo in the field to judge(only 1-2 games), but does anyone here even know if he’s good defensively? I don’t trust sabermetrics like UZR. And if he isn’t good defensively, why does he have a job? I’ve been telling myself this whole time “he’s not a hitter, he’s a utility guy; he can play defense. Plus he’s making next to nothing.”

I kinda have to do the opposite. McLouth will come back and be an important part of the team, Linebrink will be the MVP of one of the playoff series and Chipper will play everyday from now until we win the World Series.

OMG, Chipper says he is definitely back next year and is gonna think about 2013. They are gonna have to get a special bat boy that runs out and gets his walker after each AB. Maybe he can get a league exception(ADA claim) where he can use a Segway to get around the bases. We can get a handicap space for him in the dugout. Chipper is so old. How old you might ask? So old that his cup is actually a cup. He is so old that his first baseball was made from Seabiscuit. Chipper is so old that his Little League picture was actually an oil painting.

I think it is time to move chipper back to 3rd or 4th and drop Uggs and Freemen. He is still the second best hitter on the team (next to McCann). Uggss and Freeman have been great, but they do not make contact at times in key situations. Go ahead and rip me Bill, but I still like watching him hit in key situations. Prado also struggles at times in key situations (or at least lately). But the the winner for struggling in key situations is still Mr. DP – GONZO. Still gotta love Gonzo’s defense. He saves many runs (as does Freeman). Looks like Prado will remain in left for one more year which is fine.

Junior I don’t have any problem with Chipper, WHEN HE PLAYS!!!!. I just have a problem paying a 40 year old half time player $16MM a year. Qtip has to realize the golden age of PEDs is over. These guys aren’t gonna play til they are 45 anymore and a bunch of the guys who were doing em wont’ even make 40.+

Do you have a problem when he played for the braves for lower money in previous years? Bottom line is that when you take chippers whole career into account then the braves have had outstanding value for money. People rag on chipper about his 14m next year (or whatever it is) but fail to realise its that much because he renegotiated his contract to make it more weighted towards the final years to HELP THE CLUB OUT. Chipper also could of easily got more money if he had moved from the braves. So get a grip and learn your facts.

O I forgot, “QTip” is terrible. I mean he has us with the 4th best record in the majors with a middle of the table payroll. Clearly he has no idea. Yawn. Clearly “QTip” isnt a bastion of baseball knowledge like billreef.

Shut up Zippy, you’re still an idiot. Why don’t you talk about something that matters to you rather coming here to try to shoot down whatever someone else says.. Oh, I guess that would involve original thought, which we are all aware that you aren’t capable of.

Great game. Lets not give up on the NL east yet. We were hitting on all cylinders tonite. Power, average, defense, base running, starting pitching and relief pitching. I think this is the most complete game I have watched this year. If it hadn’t been for the muffs by Chip and Gonzo it would have been just about perfect.

Hometown discount in that case, so I don’t think so. Jurrjens shouldn’t be too expensive anyway, but he’d be the one to sign an extension. Hanson will be wearing pinstripes, and Bourn is apparently destined for a $100MM contract according to Bill because he’s red blooded and has Boras as an agent.

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